StumbleUpon

StumbleUpon (such as " stumbling Drüber " ) is a search engine that recommends web content to its users. By evaluating these sites creates a profile of the user. Based on the recommended software other users with common interests. About social bookmarking there also emerges a social network. A toolbar supports the collection, distribution and review of web content and allows to search by theme areas of Internet content. This toolbar exists, among others, for Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Opera. The service offers both free basic membership and a paid premium product.

Business Model

StumbleUpon uses knowledge and preferences of its users to run targeted advertising. A small part of the results that users get are sponsored pages that have been compiled according to their respective interests. These pages can, like any other site, be rated and commented positively or negatively. If the collective judgment of predominantly negative, these sites reach on actuation of the Stumble! Buttons much less frequently in the circulation. Paid user accounts ( accounts of so-called " Sponsor " ) then offer - in addition to a number of other settings - the ability to switch off such advertising.

Development

The service was bought in May 2007 from eBay. The official purchase price was 75 million U.S. dollars.

StumbleUpon minutes was the home in December 2007, the number of worldwide 4,000,000 registered users. In early October 2008, there were already more than 6 million, in March 2011, more than 15 million.